Iconic Midtown sports bar Foley’s NY closing down

A New York City sports mecca is no more.

Foley’s NY, an iconic Midtown waterhole cherished by sportswriters, fans, and beer lovers alike, will be closing its doors permanently, owner Shaun Clancy announced via Twitter video on Friday.

“Foley’s won’t reopen,” a somber Clancy said after thanking first responders. “Just with everything that is going on, there’s just no way that I can see that we can do it.”

The famed baseball-centric sports bar, across the street from the Empire State Building, had been closed since March, when the entire city went into a pandemic-induced shutdown.

“I really don’t know what to say except to thank you all for everything that you’ve done,” Clancy said. “Foley’s was always about the people. Even now as I look around, so many memories. I appreciate everything you guys have done for me.”

Clancy, a native of Ireland, fell in love with baseball while working as a bartender in the 1990s, opened the bar in 2004, naming it for longtime New York sportswriter and legendary MLB official scorer Red Foley — like Clancy, an Irishman.

Known for, among numerous other things, a collection of memorabilia including over 3,500 baseballs, pucks, jerseys, tchotchkes and assorted prizes — a diagram of Alex Rodriguez’s hip surgery drawn by the surgeon at the bar — adorned the walls, making it a perfect place for local sports enthusiasts to share a pint, record a podcast, host book signings or simply catch a game.

“Thank you for one last time,” Clancy finished the two minute-plus video with. “All I’ll say is, this is the end of the inning, but not the end of the game.”